California Not Banning Skittles - Here's What The New Additive Restrictions Mean

Despite several viral social media posts suggesting that a new California legislation will prohibit the sale of Skittles candy in 2027, nothing in the bill—which will prohibit the sale of specific food additives deemed harmful by certain studies—will take the popular candy off the shelves.??

What Was The Claim?

"California will officially ban Skittles and other candies from the state starting 2027 as Governor Gavin Newsom signed bill AB 418, also known as The California Food Safety Act," according to a post on X, formerly Twitter, by Hip Hop/Viral News outlet Daily Loud, posted on October 10, 2023, and viewed 10.9 million times.

"The measure specifically targets food goods that include brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, or red color 3. Red dye 3 can be found in Skittles and other confections such as PEZ, Hot Tamales, and Dubble Bubble gum, whereas brominated vegetable oil is commonly found in citrus soft beverages."

When Was The Bill Signed?

Credit: Forbes

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) signed legislation on Saturday prohibiting the use of four chemicals in treats such as Peeps, Brach's candy corn, and Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies: red color No. 3, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, and propylparaben.

The law has been dubbed a "Skittles ban" because an earlier version of the bill would have prohibited titanium dioxide, a substance contained in Skittles candy.

Even though the statute no longer specifies titanium dioxide, the term "Skittles ban" has lingered, and some viral social media articles incorrectly claim that California will ban Skittles sweets by 2027.

Where Is Skittles Banned?

It is supposed to be banned in California, United States, but officially it is not banned.?

How Is California Literally Banning Skittles By 2027?

Skittles are not prohibited in California.?Skittles will be unaffected by the restriction, and even if titanium dioxide were still mentioned in the statute, producers would have until 2027 to reformulate products to remove the forbidden chemicals.

California has outlawed any food product that contains brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, or red color 3, assigned by Newsom on October 7, 2023.

According to the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit activist organization that, among other things, analyzes ingredient lists for food goods offered across the United States, these four compounds are prevalent in thousands of foods.

Credit: USA Today

The ban would limit the use of the aforementioned substances but would not outright prohibit items containing them.

Newsom featured a photo of a packet of Skittles from the European Union in his announcement after signing the bill, adding, "This is demonstrable proof that the food industry is capable of maintaining product lines while complying with different public health laws, country-to-country."

While several sources and social media posts continued to refer to the law as a "Skittles ban," this appears to be a holdover from an earlier version of the bill that advocated a ban on titanium dioxide, a component contained in Skittles. It is not included in the measure that was passed this month.

What do you think about it? Do let us know in the comments.

For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram.